WWE Elimination Chamber 2012: Predicting the Winners of Each Match

The Elimination Chamber. An exciting new match type that was developed all the way back in November of 2002. It started as a match type that was used at numerous different pay-per-view events, but now has its own annual spot as the last pay-per-view on the Road to WrestleMania.

This year's Elimination Chamber show is shaping up to be interesting. WWE Raw and SmackDown have had some of the worst ratings in recent history as of late, and fans are not happy with the confusing, choppy story lines.

Now, at the last pay-per-view before WrestleMania WWE certainly has their work cut out for them. Matches are set and here are my predictions for each match, along with possible twists that WWE could throw our way. 

WWE Diva's Championship: Beth Phoenix vs. Tamina Snuka

The Setup: 

Beth Phoenix has been tearing through the weak Divas division. Kelly Kelly hasn't even been in the picture, Natalya is Beth's good friend, Eve has been too busy making out with Cena and hanging out with her injury-riddled beau Zack Ryder to make a legit run at the gold...well, pink and silver.

So who does that leave to face Beth at Elimination Chamber? Apparently that leaves Tamina. Yes, the same Tamina who had relationship with Santino that was comparable in length to his Royal Rumble appearance in 2009 that was ended after two seconds thanks to the Big Red Monster.

Tamina has since moved away from the running joke that is Santino Marella and has become a powerful force in the weak Divas division. She has embraced her Snuka bloodline as the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and has even taken to her dad's finishing move from the top rope along with a high-impact Samoan drop to set up her "Snuka Splash." 

The Match:

WWE has been trying to build the Divas up over the past year, getting away from the Barbie dolls and letting the better wrestlers like Beth Phoenix and Natalya to take over. This title match will pit two very strong divas against each other in what will be a even match for a few minutes.

Don't be surprised to see Tamina show that she can run with Phoenix in the strength department. We'll most likely see a Samoan drop landed on the Glamazon, but Beth will eventually take over and end the match and Tamina's hopes at a title.

If Beth eats her Wheaties on Sunday morning maybe we'll even see her catch a flying Tamina mid-air, countering the splash into a power slam?

The Winner: Beth Phoenix 

Possible Twists:

Something on the mind of every WWE fan who doesn't take the Diva matches as an opportunity for a bathroom break or time to go on a snack run is: Where the heck is Kharma? Kharma made her presence felt at Royal Rumble, hitting her finisher on Dolph Ziggler, one of the top men in the business!

A twist to watch out for would be Kharma coming out after the match and hitting her finisher on Beth or Tamina to put her quarters on the table for next time: A WWE Diva's Championship match at WrestleMania.

Another possible twist to watch out for would be for Beth's bosom buddy Natalya to turn on Phoenix and make the Divas match at Mania a match between former friends. This would also give Natalya a chance to get back in the ring and out of awful SmackDown promos focusing on her gastrointestinal issues.  

Ambulance Match: John Cena vs. Kane

The Setup:

If you aren't tired of this storyline you are one of the few. Kane has been trying to get Cena to "Embrace the Hate" for some time now. Something that initially looked like a vehicle for WWE to give Cena a heel turn in a fashion that worked out pretty well for another larger-than-life superstar, Hulk Hogan.

Cena and Kane have been going back and forth and the end has to come on Sunday in time for Cena to focus on the Rock at WrestleMania.

The Match: 

This match has the setup to do some big things for Cena and the WWE. Expect Cena and Kane to slug it out in a match full of Cena punches and Kane throat thrusts. The match will feature its fair share of foreign objects, whether its chairs, garbage cans or other things for these two superstars to bounce their opponent's head off of.

Expect to see John Cena do something hateful and dastardly to win the match over Kane and keep the Cena Kiddies in the crowd with their jaw on the floor and tears rolling down their cheeks.

The Winner: John Cena 

Possible Twists:

One possible twist in this match would be for Zack Ryder or his girlfriend (ex?) to interfere in the match in some way. Ryder may some how wheel his way in between Kane and Cena, causing Cena to push him down or Kane may force Cena to pick between saving Ryder or Eve or winning the match. 

SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match: Great Khali, Santino Marella, Daniel Bryan, Big Show, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes

The Setup:

If it hasn't been apparent that SmackDown has been Raw's little brother since the beginning, it certainly is now. You can count the main event talent on one hand for WWE's blue brand. Not only is the Great Khali (more like the Great Lol-i) in the match, but after Randy Orton went down with a concussion, Santino Marella was added to the match in the place of the Apex Predator.

Don't get me wrong, I love Santino. The skits with him and Kozlov were gold. But a spot in the Elimination Chamber match? With Orton out of the equation there are only a few ways this match can go. 

The Match:

A lot of this match relies on the performance of current World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan. With the Viper being taking out of the match due to a concussion, the champ needs to show that he can carry a big match without much of a supporting cast after he took part in an awful cage match at Royal Rumble with two barely mobile superstars in the Big Show and Mark Henry. 

The Great Khali and Santino are really just place holders. Expect them to both have their one or two spots, but then be taken out once it gets too serious. We might even see Santino set another quickest-elimination record. Santino is on high alert to be "pod-tossed" by someone like the Big Show or Great Khali through the glass of a chamber. 

Big Show will do what he always does in a match with more than one opponent. He'll come in, be huge and dominate for a bit. Expect him to be teamed up on and possibly even throw someone through a pod. With the rumors flowing about Show taking on Shaq at wrestling's biggest night, don't expect a win for the big man.
 

Wade Barrett isn't a major threat to win either, especially since Randy Orton isn't involved. Expect WWE to still put Barrett over by getting a few eliminations, (Khali and Santino, maybe even Big Show) but to get taken out by Rhodes or Bryan toward the end of the match.  

Cody Rhodes is really the only superstar with an outside chance to pick up a win here, but he, like Show, is in the middle of Mania rumors of a possible match against his brother Goldust.The only guy that leaves is the champion himself Daniel Bryan.

Expect Bryan to do exhibit heel-ish behavior on his way to victory continuing to make his awkward heel turn. This match will come down to either Bryan versus Rhodes or Bryan versus Barrett.

The Winner: Daniel Bryan

Possible Twists:

There aren't many twist opportunities on the table if the rumors of Show versus Shaq and Rhodes versus Goldust come to fruition at WrestleMania. One twist to watch for would be for Barrett to get a victory and start a feud between Sheamus and Barrett, two up and comers on the SmackDown roster.

Another possible and amusing twist would be for Santino to be one of the last superstars in the match and have a chance at winning.

Raw Elimination Chamber: CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, The Miz, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston

The Setup:

This match has a lot riding on it. Not only because it is the WWE Championship, but also because this is the one match of the night that is set up for greatness. Some of the best current superstars will be locked in the chamber together, and with WrestleMania right around the corner, they need to put on a good show.

Miz and R-Truth have a lot of history, the Punk-Y2J feud has finally begun, Dolph has been "showing off" to everyone and Kofi has had run-ins with a few of these guys in the past few weeks and is trying to break into the solo world after the Air to his Air Boom was suspended.  

The Match:

Expect this match to easily steal the show on Sunday. Jericho will enter the match last after his six-pack challenge victory last week, so we'll have a lot of time to watch the young superstars go at it.

Don't be surprised if the match starts with Ziggler against R-Truth or Kofi. Ziggler will get a big push in this match, getting many opportunities to show off and will survive for a long time. As for R-Truth, he'll have a spot with the Miz due to their history and will be the first or second superstar eliminated from this match and will probably cite "Li'l Jimmy" as the reason for his loss. 

If R-Truth isn't the first man out, Kofi will be. Kofi will be in this match long enough to do the obligatory crazy chamber stunts that we always see in Elimination Chamber matches (RVD pulling a Spiderman on the wall, JoMo climbing to the top and jumping on unsuspecting opponents, HBK dropping the elbow from the top of the pod) and then he will be eliminated, but will still be put over to look good now that he is a solo wrestler. 

The Miz's chamber match could go a few different ways. There have been rumors circulating online that the Miz is being punished by the WWE for the poor Survivor Series ratings (for whatever reason).

The Miz hasn't done much since and has fallen through the ranks considerably since last year, when he was headlining Mania against Cena. If WWE continues to leave Miz out of things and "punish" him, expect to see him leave early after he is released from his pod.

If they want to bring the Miz back, expect a sequel to his Royal Rumble performance, where he'll enter early, last long, but come out with no gold. The Miz, like Santino, is on high alert to be pod-tossed, probably by Punk or R-Truth. 

CM Punk could very well be the first man out of a pod so he can get in and get established before taking on Y2J at the end of the match.

Ziggler, Punk, and Jericho will be the last three in the chamber. They'll put together a solid triple-threat performance for a while until Ziggler gets the upper hand. Ziggler, instead of taking an opportunity to pin and eliminate someone, will instead show off.

This will come back to bite him as he'll be countered into a codebreaker or GTS and will be eliminated. Now the real match that everyone was waiting for will start. Y2J versus CM Punk. The best in the world against the best at what he does.

Two of the best talkers in WWE history will face off in the ring after a few weeks of back-and-forth arguments. They will have a long one-on-one matchup, eventually resulting in Jericho coming away with a GTS counter into a Codebreaker or Walls of Jericho to seal the victory and WWE gold.

Jericho winning the title will give him more ammunition for the best in the world argument with Punk and will help stoke the fire of their feud to lead to a WrestleMania rematch between the two superstars. 

The Winner: Chris Jericho 

Possible Twists:

There are a lot of twist possibilities in the Raw chamber match. The biggest twist would be Dolph Ziggler winning the belt. This would let Punk and Jericho have a match at Mania without title implications and would give the Miz or even Kofi a shot at the title at WrestleMania and a big push to their career. 

Another twist would be for Jericho to win the title without lifting a finger. Y2J is the last superstar to enter the match. Picture this: Punk and Ziggler are alone in the ring while Jericho is still in his pod. Punk and Ziggler are going back and forth until they hit some crazy combination of GTS/Zig Zag or even a simultaneous sleeper hold and anaconda vise. They eliminate each other, Jericho is released from his pod and handed the belt. 

Conclusion:

Expect a much better pay-per-view experience than the Royal Rumble. This pay-per-view has to leave fans feeling good because WrestleMania is on the horizon. Expect big matches, and big surprises.

Don't be surprised if the HHH-HBK-Undertaker situation comes up, and even possible Rock interference to mess with Cena and help him "Embrace the Hate."